Thursday, November 3, 2016

CoCA’s 24th Annual 24-Hour Art Marathon & Auction is a three-day celebration of contemporary art. Join the ongoing cacophony at the Artist Preview Party on Thursday, November 10th, from 6-9pm during Capitol Hill Art Walk at the Summit Building 420 E. Pike Street. Meet the artists and get a peek at works in progress. Admission by donation. Plus Daniel Carrillo will be back creating tin-type portraits for you on site!

The entire event launches at 10am on Thursday, November 10th with 24 hours of controlled chaos as 20+ emerging and established artists paint, draw, wax, construct, collage, spray, write and sculpt their way to creating nearly 100 new works of art to be auctioned off at the New Wave Ball & Auction on Saturday, November 12th. Everyone is welcome to come watch the artists in action during the Marathon.

THE AUCTIONHey Gang! Countdown is ON! This is gonna be a fab event! Any of you waiting for last minutes to buy your tix, do it today! only 13 seats left! Come get your dress-up on and enjoy loads of fun, fine food, drinks and art! Don't get left in the cold! Tickets on sale now for the most fun art auction in this city!

On Saturday, November 12th doors open at 5:30pm for CoCA's popular silent and live auctions with the effervescent Laura Michalek, our auctioneer and guide for the evening. While you decide which of the pieces you'll be bidding on, enjoy complimentary tasty beverages from Columbia Winery and Elysian Brewing with a cash bar featuring Sparkle Donkey Tequila. You'll be seated for a sumptuous dinner courtesy of New Roots Organics and Underwood Stables then groove on out the door to the new wave beats of DJ Jesse Milden.

CoCA's New Wave Ball & Art Auction is a throw back to CoCA's first exhibit in 1981 of James Turrell so pull out your leather with big safety pins, studded wristbands and hairspray (or egg whites for you purists) and join us for a wicked party that supports one of Seattle's most iconic nonprofit arts organizations. To further our mission to support contemporary art, CoCA offers 50% of all auction sales back to the participating artists so the higher you bid, the more you directly help artists thrive! We hope to see you there!

Help CoCA spread the word on social media with the hashtags #coca35years and #cocaseattle.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Over the weekend, I learned that Seb Barnett, fellow artist & dear friend, took their own life. I don't have the words to express how profoundly their loss has affected friends, family, and the entire art community who knew & loved them. Seb was a force of nature, and their unique insight, constant compassion, and brilliant light is irreplaceable.

Photo by Braden Duncan

When I think of Seb, they're always among the trees, and I'd like to believe that Seb's energy as passed once again into the forest, where they always felt at home. There are two events happening this month, planned before Seb's passing, that will continue onward in celebration of Seb's life & art:

“De Trop”Friday, 14 October at Urban Light Studios in Greenwood. (Semi-Private Event for friends & family of Seb)

Our hearts broke this weekend in learning of Seb's passing. The title of this show, "De Trop", translates to "too much" in French. Seb decided to use this title because they wore the description with pride by choosing emotional vulnerability and openness each day. It only took one interaction to see the beauty and light Seb carried with them. Our community lost a great artist and teacher, someone defined by their capacity for empathy and kindness. Our doors will be open on Friday to celebrate Seb's life and work. While the original pieces intended for this show will not be available, the amazing team at Bellevue Fine Art Reproduction has donated 15 full-sized canvas prints of those works. These pieces will be for sale, with 100% of proceeds going to toward Seb's family. Several original pieces will be on display but not for sale, courtesy of their collectors.

This event will go on as a memorial celebration for our beloved Seb Barnett. And, we mean celebration. Seb would not want us to wear black and tell sad stories. There will be a big green altar. We encourage you to bring a small offering, whether it be a flower, a rock, a letter. Many arts will be auctioned. All proceeds will be donated to a charity for LGBTQ+ youth.

Drag Kings, Auctions, and Beers, oh my! Beloved Seattle genderqueer artist, Seb Barnett, was saving up for a double-mastectomy. This celebration was to be a benefit to raise funds for surgery. Seb passed away late October 7, but we will continue this event, in their honor, the way they had been planning. Let’s come together and show our support for Seb’s journey, for their life, their spirit, and let's do it through our art.

Featuring:DRAG KING Performances by NG Langston’s Dapper Down Productions at 10pm! DJS spinning records that’re gonna make you shake your ass!SILENT ART AUCTION FROM 7-9:30 pm with works by Amanda Stalter, Jonathan Seright, Bill Dawson, Crystal Barbre, Fedora Carpenter, Casey Weldon, Emily Brown, Reed Carpenter, Carl Faulkner and of course… Seb Barnett. (Update: over 40 artists have contributed small works for this event. Reproductions of Seb's work will be included, but none of Seb’s originals will be for auction. All other art is up for silent auction until 9:30pm.)

This is a Safe Place. Security, Escorts to/from car/bus provided. LOTS OF PARKING! For designated drivers. Be safe everyone.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

If you need your art fix for the month of October (and I know I do!), here are some shows that you won't want to miss! What's your favourite season, and whyis it autumn? The (non-evergreen) leaves are falling, the pumpkin spice soy half-caf double tall lattes witha light dusting of cinnamon are plentiful, and hats & scarves can finally serve more of a purpose than decorative accents. I speak in semi-jest, but I love my city. And Halloween. And art. So find a fabulous costume, go trick-or-arting, and support the artists who help make Seattle great!

Fun fact: October comes from the Latin word octo which means eight. In ancient Rome, October was the eighth month of the year. When the Gregorian calendar was adopted, it became the tenth month of the year but it has retained it's original name.

"Ame: Pop Up Art & Fashion Show", Saturday, 1 October from 7-11pm. Chance of Rain Festival is happy to present you with ~Ame~ an art pop up event featuring live modular performances, inspired artworks and racey fashion. This showcase is all ages and FREE! This event features “Buyer’s Hours” from 5pm-7pm for collectors or potential art purchasers.

The Pioneer Square Art Walk ~ Thursday, 6 October from 5-9pm. Selected shows: Acid Axiom - "I Need Space" group show. I NEED SPACE: The Relationship Between Physical and Emotional Space, explores the connections of physical existence and human emotion that exist in reality. SPACE in definition is a 'continuous area or expanse that is free, available, or unoccupied'. For millennia, SPACE was a subject that fascinated the likes of Albert Einstein, Issac Newton, and Sigmund Freud. Science, Overpopulation, Anxiety, and Introspection are focal points in consideration. INS is a collaboration of mixed media artists.Addison Gallery - Morbid Anatomy: The Art of Anita Arora. Please join me as I present my work and enjoy a special performance by Tempest & Nathaniel Johnstone! One night only: Thurs, Oct 6th from 6pm - 9pm. Performance starts at 7:30pm. Entrance to Gallery is on Main Street.AXIS Pioneer Square - "A Quiet Truth" by Jessica Jorgensen. Working in a classical realist style, painter Jessica Jorgensen visually examines the narrative of moments typically seen as private, often set inside the home. Rich in texture, her work reflects an overwhelming sense of solitude and intimacy. Jessica Jorgensen is a curious observer documenting visual absurdities and narratives repeated in day-to-day life. Her work explores the figure's ability to carry emotion and story through the body, as well as the underlying figurative nature of objects personified. The observations are sometimes simple, sometimes serious, spiritual, and even silly at times, but her work consistently incarnates those moments along with the emotional connections attached. CoCA - "Going the Distance: Select 2016 Art Marathon & Auction Artists" Artists are gearing up now for their all nighter that's just over a month away. The 2016 24-Hour Art Marathon is a three day event that starts at 10am Thursday, November 10 when over 20 artists embark on a 24-hour journey in one big room where they paint, draw, collage, spray and wax their way to over 100 new works of art. As a preview for the great art at the November 12 auction, we open our gallery space on October 6 to introduce you to works by some of the new artists that have pledged 24 hours of sleep deprivation for our annual FUNdraiser. Join us on Thursday, October 6 from 6-9pm for a preview of some of the immensely talented artists participating in this year's art marathon including Zeynep Banu Alev, Aaron Haba, Robin Walker, Leslie West, Daniel John Williams, Junko Yamamoto, and more.Flatcolor Gallery - Group Exhibition of Past WorksKraken Congee - "Kaiju Art Show" The show will be hanging for the entire month of October so come by and check out the Japanese monster extravaganza!Also check out new work at 4Culture,57 Biscayne,Abmeyer + Wood,Angle Gallery, Art Xchange, Artifact Gallery,The Belfry Oddities, Bon Voyage Vintage,Bonfire Gallery, Cafe Vita,Core Gallery, Davidson Galleries,Delicatus,Foster/White Gallery, Gallery 110,Gallery IMA, goCstudio, Greg Kucera Gallery,Hall Spassov Gallery, Huntington Media Gallery,James Harris Gallery,Linda Hodges Gallery,Mariane Ibrahim Gallery,Method Gallery, Nord Alley & the Alley Network Project,Occidental Square Park, OK Gallery, Pioneer Square Saloon,The Piranha Shop,Platform Gallery,Punch, Room 104 Gallery, SAM Gallery, Seattle Artsource, Shift, SOIL, Stonington Gallery, Surface Theory, TK Artist Lofts,Treason Gallery, and
more! Pioneer Square is the oldest art walk in the United States, and
features over 50 galleries, studios, and other art spaces!

Stone Way Cafe - "New York to Seattle"Matthew Schwartz, age 32. Born in New Jersey. Currently studying to be a clinical mental health counselor and art therapist at Antioch University in Seattle. Matthew has a wide range of artistic interests. However, for this show he focused on utilizing the fast drying nature and brilliant colors of acrylic paint to create magical imaginary Pop-Landscapes, inspired by the Pacific Northwest and the beauty that surrounds his vantage point on Capitol Hill Seattle.

The Georgetown Art Attack ~ Saturday,8 October from 6-9pm. Selected shows: The Alice - "Fwd:<no-reply>" closing receptionThe Conservatory - "Inktoberfest" Come join us this October for Georgetown Art Attack! The Conservatory will be hosting Inktoberfest, a inking-themed drawing event. We will provide drawing references, paper, and pens. We also have a library of artbooks available for your viewing pleasure or inspiration!

Eight and Sand - "78 Tarot Carnival" group show. It's time for the annual Tarot show! This year will feature several artists from the 78 Tarot Carnival deck as well as many of the local and national artists that we work with regularly who will show their own interpretation of their chosen card. There will be decks available and possibly a tarot reader.Georgetown Liquor Co - "The Art of Kenneth Pedersen" Photographic Prints on Metallic Paper. Adventurer for hire! Specialties: Swashbuckling, Monster Slaying, Treasure Hunting

Krab Jab Studio - "Gods of the Wyld" with Allen Williams. "Gods of the Wyld" is the brainchild of illustrator Allen Williams, featuring 12 brand new drawings and paintings. Best known for his macabre, organic and impeccably drawn images, Allen has built a small army of admirers who can't get enough if his bizarre creations. This group represents lost gods of nature as only he could envision them. Featured artists include Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Forest Rogers, and The Shiflett Brothers. Allen will be unable to attend, however, we will try to Skype him in for an Artist Talk at 7:30 pm.

GeekGirlCon at the WA State Convention Center, Saturday & Sunday, 8-9 October. Get ready for GeekGirlCon '16! This year will be our SIXTH convention so join us in downtown Seattle for some geektastic fun. Our convention will take place in the same building as GeekGirlCon '15, the Conference Center at the Washington State Convention Center on October 8 & 9, 2016. Each year our convention sells out sooner than the previous year. Buy your passes now and get them at our Early Bird prices! A few highlights in the Artist Alley & Exhibitor Hall: Arctic Phoenix, Brittany Fuerst, Clockwork Art (your humble narrator), Funko Toys, Geekstar Costuming, The Gorgonist, Kamakru Art, Megan Missfit, Rhododo, Stasia Burrington Illustration, TM Originals, Ten Hundred, and many, many more!

"Natural Drawing" with Seb Barnett, Sundays from 1-4pm.
In this class we will explore basic drawing techniques from light and
shadow, reflections, the nature of form and weight. We will cover
techniques for drawing from life and photos, traditional and
contemporary. Drawing with graphite pencils and charcoal, we will
explore blending, crosshatching, and how lines can capture light, dark,
and shape and weight! Anyone who takes this class will learn the skills
necessary for drawing not only realism based imagery, but also drawing
the sense of life and movement in the natural world.

Twilight Gallery - "HEX and the Monstrous Feminine: Our Daily Armor II" group show. We react to the society that envelops us; We wage battle every day against oppression and privilege. When our world refuses to listen and won’t protect us, we ignite the power within ourselves. We summon our inner witches and scorch obstacles with our monstrous feminine fire power. From where do we divine this power? What shields us? HEX and The Monstrous Feminine examines the mystical and occult tools available in contemporary art and adornment.

Echo Echo Gallery - The Echo Echo crew! It's officially fall in Seattle, and everything suddenly turns pumpkin flavored, except the art at Echo Echo, which is colorful, lively and still inspiring! (but pumpkinless!) This month at Echo Echo we have: Ronnie Taylor, Xavier Lopez Jr., Claudio Duran, Eva Wang, Rhodora Jacob, Jeff mf & John Hunter. We will have refreshments and beverages, kickass art, hopefully a DJ, NO pumpkin flavors, and a ton of really cool people who enjoy art and discussing it at length. What's not to like? Located downstairs from Urban Light Studios and around the corner from Subway. HappyTime Apocalypse - The HappyTime crew! Happytime Halloween!Kolab Galery - KOLAB artists: Robert Bellm, Joshua Boulet, Melissa Crosetto, Travis Meloche, Mallory Milke, Megan Noel SmithTwo Birds Tattoo- Marty Gordon. This month we will be featuring Marty Gordon who is returning to his first love of cartooning, Marty has drawn a monster a day for the past couple of years. This show will feature a sampling of Marty's Sensitive Monsters just in time for Halloween!!Urban Light Studios- Opening Reception: "De Trop" by Seb Barnett. In this show, Seb examines what it means to be considered “de trop” (in French, this translates to “too much”) in a vast, ever-changing emotional spectrum of day-to-day life. Opening night also features live performances by Bryce MacEvoy and Tobias the Owl. Closing Reception:Jordan Timlake. Warlock Labs - "Danger Strings" group show. Come join us at the Lab for a show inspired by a pretty weird decade and the films that defined it for a generation. Fantasy, sci-fi, and horror - It's gonna be totally awesome, dudes.

"2nd Saturdays at TK Hall Collective" ~
The 2nd Saturday of every month from noon-5pm at the TK Artist Loft
building in Pioneer Square. With the revitalised success of the Pioneer
Square 1st Thursday Art Walk, several of the working studios at the
Tashiro/Kaplan Building have collectively decided to add a new tradition
by also opening our doors to the public on the second Saturday of every
month from noon to 5 pm. Participating studios:306 S Washington St. (#101 - Ellen Hoch Berg, #103 - Studio 103, #104 - Juan Alonso, #105 - Joanna Morgan Designs)312 S Washington St. (#2B - Barbara Noonin, #C - Jody Joldersma)

Mourning Market at El Corazon, Sunday, 16 October from noon-5pm. IT'S SPOOOOOOKY TIME!!! What not a better way to celebrate HALLOWEEN than coming to Mourning Market! Come and join us at Seattle's Premier Dark Theme Market. Get DRESSED UP in your finest, darkest garb. Spend the day strolling through El Corazon all the while shopping with over 35 of the Pacific Northwest's spookiest artists. Visit with friends, and enjoy some drinks! Mourning Market is all Ages. $1 entrance fee. We are also giving out 50 "body bags" full of great donations from our vendors and sponsors to the first 50 paying attendees through the door. Come early because these go FAST! See you Sunday October 16th!

"F**k My Tits" a fundraiser for Seb Barnett at Muse Gallery. Saturday, 22 October from 7pm-midnight. Ding! Dong! My Boobs are Gone! (ALMOST)Drag Kings, Auctions, and Beers, oh my!Beloved Seattle genderqueer artist, Seb Barnett, is saving up for a double-mastectomy. This celebration is a benefit to raise funds for surgery. They have health insurance, but the deductible is more than the operation, which comes in at around $2500. Let’s come together and show our support for Seb’s journey to become a more authentic version of themself. For your enter-taint-ment, in the THEME of WIZARD of OZ:Featuring: DRAG KING Performances by NG Langston’s Dapper Down ProductionsDJS spinning records that’re gonna make you shake your ass Themed Cock-tail Menu, Beer, & BOOBIE Jello Shots served up by Laura Halal & Crystal Barbre (DONATION BAR!)We are RAFFLING off some tattoos by Hannah Phillips and handmade beauty products (soaps n scents) by Bonnie and Clyde Soap Co.SILENT ART AUCTION with works by Amanda Stalter, Jonathan Seright, Bill Dawson, Crystal Barbre, Fedora Carpenter, Casey Weldon, Emily Brown, Reed Carpenter, and of course… Seb Barnett. (More artists to be announced soon!)This is a Safe Place. Security, Escorts to/from car/bus provided. LOTS OF PARKING! For designated drivers. Be safe everyone. Only $5 at the door. DONATION BAR! WHA?! Get your sexy ass down the yellow brick road to the F*CK MY TITS PARTAY! Costumes encouraged. Wear them slippers, gurl!

ONGOING:

The SAAM is currently featuring:"GOLD: Japanese Art from the Collection" (9 April - 9 October 2016).
The Golden Pavilion, gold tea house, golden Buddha hall, golden
screens, a kimono embroidered with gold thread, lacquerware decorated
with gold—the list goes on. Gold has long been used as a luxurious
material for architectural features, sculpture, painting, textiles, and
many other forms in Japanese art. Universally coveted for its rich color
and enduring value, it has come to symbolize power, strength, wealth,
eternity, and religious sanctity. Experience a gallery gleaming with all
that glitters—gold. The pieces on view have been selected from the
museum’s Japanese collection, which provide a glimpse of exceptional and
varied works that utilize gold, including Buddhist paintings, shrines
and accoutrements, monk’s robes and temple runners—which all demonstrate
gold’s sacred symbolism in Buddhism; while gold leaf on paintings, gold
decorations on lacquer boxes and inro, and gold threads in kimono and
obi, all impart a luminous layer to the artworks.

The SAMis currently featuring:"Big Picture: Art After 1945" (23 July - Ongoing). In
the decades following World War II, New York emerged as a new center of
contemporary art in the Western hemisphere, eclipsing Paris in
importance. It was a moment of bold beginnings. The gestural painting
styles that developed in the United States in the late 1940s and ‘50s
had unprecedented explosive energy and grew out of an experimentation
with painting as an expression of the subconscious. These were the
landmark beginnings of abstract expressionism and its concurrent
artistic movements—from intense fields of color, to minimal manipulation
of surface and texture, to artists learning from dance and movement and
examining the everyday."Go Tell It: Civil Rights Photography" (30 April 2016 - 2 January 2017, 3rd Floor Galleries).
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s saw major gains in the struggle
to end segregation and discrimination against African Americans, as well
as many other marginalized groups, including Native Americans,
homosexuals, and women. While landmark pieces of legislation during that
decade officially outlawed racial discrimination, the realities of
social and institutional inequity continued well past these watershed
years—and the "foot soldiers" of the movement continued their efforts to
confront them. This exhibition features major works from the collection
by artists including Dan Budnik, Danny Lyon, Roy deCarava, Robert
Frank, Gary Winogrand, Marion Post Wolcott, and others. Whether
capturing the inequalities of Jim Crow-era segregation, documenting
keystone moments and leaders of the movement, or exposing the racial
injustices that continued long after desegregation, these artists used
documentary photography as a tool for activism and to bear witness to
the battle for equality. "Terratopia: The Chinese Landscape in Painting & Film" (2 July 2016 - 26 February 2017, Foster Galleries). Majestic
landscapes are metaphors for human emotion in Chinese art. They evoke
melancholy and disquiet. They express elation or resolve. They record
memory and history. Images of the wilderness, pure and pristine, offer a
mental refuge and represent real or imagined places with powerful
cultural, historical, and religious associations. Some works envision
man’s place in the cosmos, depicting sacred mountains as a paradise
between heaven and earth. Pictures of villas or garden estates express a
desire for reclusion and allow busy viewers to imagine themselves at
leisure in the countryside, or to fancy themselves as hermits.

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art is currently featuring:"Heaven on Fire" by Barbara Earl Thomas (25 June - 9 October 2016). Bainbridge Island Museum of Artis proud to present Heaven on Fire, a survey of over 60artworks
by Barbara Earl Thomas, with work spanning from the early 1980s to
present. Included in this exhibition are paintings, prints, glass
sculpture, paper cuts, and a site-specific installation including the
artist’s writings.

Gage Academy of Artis currently featuring:"Drink & Draw" every 1st Friday from 7-9pm. Each
session is based on a theme – a costumed model, still life
arrangements, music, videos and more. We’ll provide the drawing
materials for free – or just have a cocktail or glass of wine and watch
the artists work! No formal instruction is provided, no host bar. Ages
21+ only, please. $10 at the door.

The Henry Art Gallery is currently featuring:"White Snow Wood Sculptures" by Paul McCarthy. The Henry presents an exhibition of black walnut sculptures by American artist Paul McCarthy (born 1945). Ranging in height from three to fourteen feet, the works that occupy the museum's lower level gallery are the product of the artist's interest in the nineteenth-century German folktale Schneewittchen (Snow White) and Walt Disney's beloved 1937 animated classic film. For these works, the artist turned to computer mapping to digitally scale, shape, and manipulate the final wood sculptures. The resulting pieces are recomposed, and sometimes grotesque, variations of familiar characters from the classic tale, such as the Prince, Dopey, and Snow White herself. The centerpiece of the exhibition, White Snow, Bookends (2013), is a two-part monumental sculpture weighing a total of 36,000 pounds. The giant "tchotchkes" are entangled and dislocated representations of the Prince and White Snow on horseback that recall the elaborate compositions of Baroque sculpture, but that instead court truncated narratives and abstraction.

The Frye Art Museum is currently featuring: "To: Seattle | Subject: Personal" (1 October 2016 - 8 January 2017). To: Seattle | Subject: Personal celebrates exceptional artistic practice in the first decades of the twenty-first century. It embraces the idea that a museum and its collection are living entities in constant transformation. To: Seattle brings together a selection of works of contemporary art acquired by the Board of Trustees of the Frye Art Museum between 2009 and 2016 during the directorship of Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker. They include significant works commissioned by the Frye Art Museum in conjunction with exhibitions of artists and artist collectives. To: Seattle brings together twenty-two artists and collectives in an exhibition that resists any single overarching theme in order to embrace the singularity or commonality among individuals and groups. Through a diverse array of media, the works mobilize the imagination in consideration of the social, political, and cultural forces that have shaped the present. They address tumultuous events such as 9/11 and the 2008 economic crisis as well as the displacement of communities, and racial and social inequity.

With this much going on, you couldn't possibly complain that there's nothing to do in Seattle!